Students can produce a pretty hefty ecological footprint, especially with the pileup of unused school supplies, appliances and technology, and that’s where The Campus Market finds its niche. 

Since the start of 2015, The Campus Market,  an online platform for students to buy and sell used items, has given more than 30,000 students the opportunity to sell and purchase old textbooks and other materials for better prices than retail counterparts, all with the hopes of reducing students’ waste.  

The Campus Market also allows college students across the nation the chance to sell items ranging from textbooks, appliances, electronics, tickets and anything that they might not need at the end of a semester. With these physical items, The Campus Market also allows people to find potential roommates, tutors and living quarters.  

The Campus Market is available to universities across the nation. Schools in North Carolina, along with NC State, such as Appalachian State, Duke, East Carolina and UNC-Chapel Hill use the platform.  

“When you go to a college like NC State, there is a sense of community, and students don’t want to mislead students, especially with them living so close to the other; I think this encourages successful transactions,” said Brad Stinson co-founder of The Campus Market and a North Carolina native. 

Stinson stresses the importance of the eco-friendly aspect of the market.  Instead of students purchasing brand new books from the bookstore, they are able to use more sustainable book-buying methods. The Campus Market is also hoping to reach out to the sustainability offices at the universities it endorses. 

This new website offers a campus-specific realm of users and can help students save money, according to Stinson. He saw at the end of the 2014-2015 school year that students were throwing away gently used items and appliances. 

“We noticed that we weren’t getting our full dollar back,” Stinson said. 

Because of this dilemma, Stinson and the other co-founder Heather Morrow felt that The Campus Market would be the solution to one of many college student’s financial problems.  

Ellie June, a senior studying English, has found the site to be extremely useful for buying textbooks. 

 “I’m more comfortable buying and selling things on The Campus Market than Craigslist,” June said. 

Along with increased efforts to support the environment, The Campus Market has future plans to expand their users, according to Stinson.  While the website is centered on college students, the site has hopes to reach out to local businesses and allow them to share things on their nearest campus website to increase foot traffic in local businesses as well.  

“Signing up is fairly easy,” Stinson said. “Once students sign up, they can either start browsing or post their own ad. It’s easy to do and a great way to help the environment.”